The President, who is known for his hands-on benevolence, spent the night with institutions including the CASA support centre for the homeless, serving up food and handing out food packages in several locations throughout Lisbon.
These included Sete Rios, Largo de Santa Bárbara, Regueirão dos Anjos, Jardim Constantino and Praça da Figueira.
Dressed in the same attire as the volunteers, the President helped prepare dishes including spaghetti bolognaise, stuffed aubergine, and roast chestnuts at a canteen in Sete Rios, which every day feeds around 460 people.
The president has said he hopes to “drastically improve” the situation of all of the country’s homeless by 2023.
An action plan for the integration of the homeless is being rolled out this year and next, under the tutelage of the State Secretary of Social Security, Cláusia Joaquim, who accompanied the President on the five-hour jaunt.
“Our prediction is that the plan can be approved and ratified by the end of this month and will periodically allow all public entities and institutions to communicate and work together,” the State Secretary told reporters.
In Regueirão dos Anjos, where the President sat cross-legged on the pavement to talk to two homeless men being helped by the Comunidade Vida e Paz charity, a group of local residents made the point of telling the group of journalists accompanying the head of state: “[Marcelo] is the first politician in the 40 plus years of the new regime who has had the courage to come out onto the streets and sit on the floor with people.”